The Bulletproof Vest
by lovetheblazer
Summary: There was a reason Beckett insisted Castle always wear his bulletproof vest when they went out in the field even though he looked ridiculous wearing his custom vest emblazoned with "writer." Right now was that reason. Spoilers through Countdown.
1. Prologue

There was a reason Beckett insisted Castle always wear his bulletproof vest when they went out in the field even though he looked ridiculous wearing his custom vest emblazoned with "writer." Right now was that reason. Spoilers through Countdown (or at least the sneak peeks for Countdown).

After surviving three hours in a deep freeze fridge and two exposures to radioactive material from a dirty bomb, Beckett felt like there was nothing that she and Castle couldn't handle as long as they were together. They weren't "together" exactly, but they were certainly closer than they'd ever been. Beckett had been perilously close to telling Castle exactly how she felt about him when she thought they were both dying of hypothermia. Little did she know that he'd nearly done the same when he thought they were both dying of radiation poisoning. And while neither had worked up the courage to have that talk after realizing they were going to survive, the paramedics were forced to pry their hands apart in order to roll them into separate treatment rooms at the ER so they could both be treated for hypothermia after their stay in the deep freeze.

Beckett had fully planned to talk to Castle about her feelings, but wanted to give it a little time after ending things with Josh. In the meantime, Castle and Beckett continued to work and banter together as always, but now seemed to find more excuses to touch and spend time together outside of work.

Today had started out as just an ordinary day. Their latest homicide case brought them to the housing projects where 16 year old Julio Vasquez had been gunned down in what they suspected was a turf war between two local gangs. Beckett and Castle decided to canvas the building in an attempt to find an eyewitness who wouldn't be too scared to tell them what they'd seen. Julio had been gunned down in broad daylight, and they both suspected that at least someone in the building had seen something, but might be to afraid to come forward for fear of retaliation.

As they were getting ready to leave the car, Beckett prompted Castle to put on his bulletproof vest, more out of habit than of any real concern for their safety. Castle rolled his eyes but reluctantly agreed to put his on as long as Kate wore hers as well so they could "look stupid together." Beckett rolled her eyes right back, but strapped her vest on as well. They each took a side of the hallway and began knocking on doors. And as Beckett heard gunshots and peered around the door frame to see Castle crumple to the ground, she had two thoughts: 1) Thank god he's wearing his vest; and 2) I should have told him I loved him...

This is obviously just the beginning of all the Casketty goodness. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak. This is my first Castle fanfic - how am I doing so far? If you want to read more, please review :)


	2. Worst Case Scenario

Thanks to everyone who has read the story so far. 643 hits in a day and a half is not so shabby. That said, I could really use more reviews. I really want to hear from you about what you like, what you don't like, and what you'd want to see happen in the story. Alright, now let's return to Castle and Beckett, shall we?

"Castle!" Kate shouted, her back against the doorframe as she whipped out her weapon. Her heart was pounding as she listened for him, praying that he'd dropped to the floor in order to dodge the bullet, not because a bullet had found him. No response.

She darted around the door and sent several shots towards the back of the gunmen who was fleeing the building. None of her shots landed. She made the decision not to pursue the gunmen as she knew Castle needed her. She looked at Castle, who had started to stir on the floor. She could hear a faint cough that seemed to be coming from him echoing down the hall.

She grabbed for her two way radio as she ran down the hall towards Castle. "This is Detective Beckett. I'm at 495 N Houston St. There's been a shooting and I need an ambulance right away. The gunmen was wearing jeans, a navy t-shirt, and a red baseball cap. He was last seen fleeing the south exit of the housing projects at this address."

She slipped the radio back in her pocket without waiting for a response as she neared Castle. She dropped to her knees next to him as she scanned his body for a gunshot wound.

It was obvious to Beckett right away that something was wrong. Castle was lying on his back, slightly propped up on one elbow, his right hand clutching his left shoulder. His eyes were closed and his face was white and pinched in pain. Most disturbingly, Castle was more still and quiet that Kate had ever seen him before.

"Castle?" Kate called out worriedly. "Where are you hit? I don't see any blood." she said as she slid her hands up and down his torso, searching for his injury. "Castle, look at me," she demanded.

Castle groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and looked up into Beckett's panicked face.

"My...shoulder, but I think...it hit...my vest," he painfully gasped out. "God, it still hurts."

Kate let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I know it does. Even when the vest stops it, there can be enough force to break a rib."

Castle nodded slightly while continuing to take in air in short gasping breaths.

Kate took in how much Castle was struggling to breathe and decided to take the vest off to see the extent of the bruising underneath. She didn't like his color and was starting to suspect he had some broken ribs.

"Castle, I'm going to take your vest off and see if that makes it a little easier to breathe, okay?"

As Beckett reached down to begin undoing the velcro strap on Castle's side, Castle lifted his head in an attempt to sit up.

"Easy, Castle. It's okay. I can get your vest off by myself. Don't try to get up," Kate said as she continued to undo the straps one by one. She reached last for the strap above his left shoulder. As she lifted it up and pulled the vest off, she felt dampness. Slowly, she touched her fingers to his left shoulder and pulled her hand away, slowly taking in the sticky red blood covering her fingers.

Beckett looked up to Castle's face in shock, and was relieved to see that his eyes were shut and he had not seen the blood. She quickly reached down and began to unbutton several buttons on his shirt, still hoping that she would find only a bullet graze wound underneath.

As she finished unbuttoning his shirt enough to expose his shoulder, she carefully peeled back the blood-soaked fabric. Castle drew in a painful breath and opened his eyes.

"Kate, what...are you doing?" asked Castle.

"Shhh, it's okay Castle. I just need to look at your shoulder," answered Beckett.

She pulled back his shirt, exposing blood that was pouring out of a small hole underneath Castle's collarbone. It was clearly a bullet hole, and while Castle said it was shoulder that was hit, the wound was closer to his chest in reality

"Oh Castle," sighed Beckett, trying to fight the tears that were threatening to start.

Castle looked first to Kate's face, then down to his bleeding chest in shock. "Oh," was all he managed to get out.

Beckett reached her hand to gently cup Castle's cheek. "It's okay, Castle. You're going to be okay. Just hang on."

Kate reached for her two-way radio again and began to bark out rapid fire instructions.

"This is Detective Beckett. What's the ETA on the ambulance? We have an officer down. Repeat – office down,"

I love that she calls his a police officer here, as I think she's really come to respect and value his contribution to their cases lately. I've got the rest of this lazy evening to write and may try to finish another chapter or two if people are interested in more. So if that sounds like something you'd want, please review and let me know.


	3. The Longest 10 Minutes of Kate's Life

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and gave me the encouragement to continue with the story. I wasn't ready to abandon poor Castle and Beckett so soon, so I'm glad you wanted to hear more. This is the first of several really meaty chapters that contain plenty of h/c goodness and a gradual progression of the Castle/Beckett relationship. So without further adieu, let's get back to the story.

"Detective, this is dispatch. We've got an ambulance on the way, but they're still about 8-10 minutes out. Do you copy?"

Kate sighed deeply before responding, "Copy. Please tell them to hurry." Kate sat motionless for nearly a minute as she tried to collect herself. Castle had to be terrified and in a lot much pain so she needed to be strong for him. She couldn't let on just how dire this situation was becoming.

Beckett dropped her radio and turned back to Castle only to see him intensely studying her. As she looked back at him, her hand unconsciously went to his head and she began stroking his hair.

Castle's eyes briefly closed at the feeling of Kate's warm hand on his cold, clammy forehead as she softly brushed his hair back. His eyes snapped open again as Beckett called his name.

"Kate...you called...me...a police officer," Castle spoke haltingly in between breaths.

Beckett offered him a sad smile in return before responding. "Of course I did, Castle. You're my partner. You've worked at the precinct for over a year, and we never would have solved half of those cases without you."

Castle nodded in appreciation as his eyes slid closed again. "God, it's getting hard to stay awake," he thought to himself.

"Castle...Rick! Listen to me," shouted Beckett. "Rick, you have to keep your eyes open and keep talking to me, okay? The ambulance is almost here. Just stay with me for a few minutes longer." Kate spoke in a rush as she continued to stroke Castle's hair.

Castle slowly wrenched his eyes open, his face contorted in pain and his eyes serious for once, without a trace of his typical Castle sparkle, wit, and charm.

"Kate, it...it hurts," said Castle shakily.

Beckett swallowed hard at the thought of how much Castle had to be hurting in order to admit it to her.

"Shh...I know, honey. I know," Kate whispered. "You're doing great, Rick. Just a few more minutes until we can get you to the hospital, okay?" She carefully slid her arm under Castle's neck and good shoulder.

"Castle, I'm going to move you to my lap, okay?" asked Kate

Castle nodded in agreement. The ground underneath him was cold and hard, and he'd always dreamed of being in Kate's arms, although obviously under different circumstances.

Beckett slowly lifted his upper body off the ground a bit and slid Castle's torso to rest against her legs as gently as possible while trying not to jostle his left arm that was curled protectively against his body. Despite her best efforts, Castle cried out in pain as she moved him, his face blanching even whiter than it had been only moments earlier.

"I'm sorry, Rick. I'm so sorry. I know it hurts. Just try to take slow, deep breaths. You're doing great," Kate spoke in a rush as she resumed stroking his hair.

After several agonizing seconds, Castle's breathing started to slow to a more normal rate and he was able to open his eyes again. He looked up at Beckett who was intensely studying the blood pouring from his wound and pooling in the hollow beneath his collarbone. But Castle was completely shocked by what Kate did next.

The detective had long since abandoned her bulletproof vest (perhaps out of frustration that Castle's vest had let him down?). Now, without a word, the detective lifted her arms above her head and began peeling off her favorite sweater. The crew-necked sweater was a soft cashmere blend in a deep emerald green that brought out the color of her eyes.

Castle was shocked to see that Beckett had on only a flimsy, silk camisole underneath.

"Is that...your attempt at...making...me feel better?" asked Castle jokingly, though he was still struggling to breathe.

Kate let out a weak chuckle before replying, "In your dreams, Castle." As she looked down at Castle's blood soaked shirt and chest, however, she quickly grew serious once more.

Kate folded her sweater into a thick square of material and gazed down at Castle.

"Rick honey, I need to get this bleeding under control, okay?" asked Kate as she gently lay her sweater on top of the wound. She positioned her hand over the sweater, palm facing down with the heel of her hand lined up over the bullet hole.

Kate shifted her gaze to Castle's face yet again. "Okay Castle, take a deep breath for me," she entreated.

Something in Kate's voice told Castle that he wasn't going to like what came next. He gazed up at her before asking, "Why?"

Kate sighed before responding. "I need to put pressure on your wound to slow down the bleeding, but...um, it's going to hurt...a lot." Kate's voice wavered slightly as she told Castle how badly it would hurt.

Castle briefly closed his eyes as he silently steeled him for the next onslaught of pain. After a moment, he opened his eyes, a grim, determined look on his face. He started to draw in a breath, nodding at Beckett as he did to signal her to begin putting pressure on his wound.

As Kate watched, Castle struggled to draw in a breath while she began applying firm, steady pressure to the wound to Castle's chest.

"Ahh!" Castle cried out in pain. He continued to gasp and moan for nearly a minute. His eyes were tightly closed, his features pinched in pain. Kate could just make out a single tear as it spilled from Castle's eye and slid down his cheek.

"Shhh...Castle, it's okay. Breathe. Just breathe, honey. You're going to be okay," Kate whispered again and again in an attempt to calm and reassure Castle while she continued to stroke his hair. She reached up and cupped his cheek and wiped away the tear that had spilled onto his cheek with her thumb.

As Kate continued to try to soothe Castle, he reached up with his right hand and tightly gripped her forearm, since her hand was occupied with putting pressure on his wound. He squeezed her arm, seemingly with all his remaining strength, and little by little, his breathing started to ease up, though his eyes remained closed.

"Castle? Open your eyes, okay? I need you to talk to me." begged Kate with an edge of panic to her voice.

Castle looked up at Beckett, his eyes watery with unshed tears. He racked his brain for any conversation topic that might distract him until the ambulance arrived but came up empty. He decided to ask Beckett the one question that had been on his mind for the last few minutes.

"Kate," Castle rasped out. "Have you...ever been shot?"

Beckett looked down at Castle, immensely relieved to hear his voice again. She shook her head in response as she answered Castle.

"No, never anything like this. The closest I ever came was when I took two 9 mil slugs to the chest. I was lucky that my vest caught the bullets and I made it out with only 3 broken ribs."

"Ohh...," Castle responded. "Is that...why you always insist...that I wear my ves...," Castle trailed off as his talking triggered a coughing fit. The pain in his chest exploded tenfold as he began to cough violently, causing his field of vision to start to darken around the edges as he neared unconsciousness.

"Shh, Castle. Maybe you shouldn't talk. Just focus on your breathing. That's it. I know it hurts, just squeeze my arm. Shh, it's okay. I'm right here."

Suddenly, Castle began to struggle violently, attempting to lift his head from Kate's lap.

"Easy Castle," Beckett said while gently pushing his body back down. "Don't try to get up. Just take it easy."

Castle seemed unable to hear her as he struggled again to sit up.

"Castle, stop. I need you to lay still," Kate commanded. His struggling was starting to scare her.

Castle started to gasp something out, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

"Kate, I can't...breathe. I need to sit up. Please...help," Castle entreated with wild eyes.

Beckett glanced down at her watch, noting that the ambulance was still at least another 4-5 minutes away. "Oh god," thought Kate to herself. "What am I going to do now?"

Whew! How's that for a cliffhanger. As always, if you are liking the story (or even if you aren't liking it and have some constructive criticism for me), please review!


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